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Deconstructing the game: Combatribes

Then there’s another great move, the giant swing, where the player grabs the enemy’s feet and swings him around to usually hit other enemies. I love moves like that, and it along with the double head smash just make me wonder how much better the game would have been with more innovative moves like those.

You down with OTG?: I love games that let you attack the enemy on the ground. There really aren’t enough of them, even today, but Combatribes manages to be one with a great mechanic. The player, when close enough, will in an almost tractor beam like fashion hone in on the enemy and smash them in the back, doing a really good amount of damage.

It’s also a very satisfying move to pull off, which is always important.

Running attacks: As annoyed as I am that this game doesn’t have jumping attacks, it at least has running attacks that “may” perform a jumping knee or the like. The hit box is great on this move and it also appears to do good damage while serving a dual purpose of assisting the player in getting around the screen quickly.

This isn’t really innovative or anything, but the running attacks are actually useful, which is at least a feather in the otherwise ratty hat that Combatribes wears.

I know you’re gonna give me shit, but I like the Boss Variety: A fat trucker dude, a tomahawk wielding giant “native american”, a cyborg chick and fucking Karnov of all people populate a rogue gallery of bosses in Combatribes, and I like the level of uniqueness attacks that each boss has. Visual variety is almost as important as gameplay variety in beat ‘em ups, so having several different looking bosses is a big deal.

I just wish they were in, ya know, a better game.

Conclusion: Combatribes is just an all around broken game. The game feels less designed & more just thrown together. Besides a few bright spots, everything else screams cutting room floor.